You stepped into this discussion, therefore I concluded that you challenged my point about "American men".
While I don´t argue with you that America has promoted individualism like no other country before, and that it has brought many great inventors, sportsmen, politicians, I can´t say that there haven´t been equally great and even better people in other nations. For me, no nation can claim it´s the "greatest on earth" because being great, good, the best, etc is an attribute for the individual. Saying that America is the greatest country means that every American takes pride in it, even though he/she has contributed NOTHING for the fame of the individuals. One can say that America is a great country, but I would never accept the claim that there is such thing like a "greatest country". You got it?
"Saying that America is the greatest country means that every American takes pride in it, even though he/she has contributed NOTHING for the fame of the individuals."
I GUESS YOU'RE TRYING TO SAY that losers always try to attach themselves to winners even in the most tangential and ultimately meaningless ways, but while that is true, it is also irrelevant to the point.
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One can say that America is a great country, but I would never accept the claim that there is such thing like a "greatest country". You got it?
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If there is no such thing as a "greatest country" then there is no such thing as a "great country". Both require an ability to measure countries against each other and one is going to have the highest "score".
We have the best record on first refining, then spreading human rights, humanitarian aid, and -- most of all -- political and economic freedom throughout the world. Our record is not flawless in that regard but even so, whoever is second to America under these criteria is really a distant 40th.
If that isn't the measure of a great country, then you're right, there is no such thing. What other measure is there? Who makes the best cars or food or has the best weather is rather petty by comparison...